I guess I do like running!

The other day (as you all know because of my husband's last post) I ran a half marathon. 13.2 miles of running really gives you a lot of time to think. As I started the race all I could think was how crazy I was for deciding to run. I had not trained at all, and it was cold enough that I could see my breath. But by mile three I was warmed up and really into it. Then I started to think about my life... how grateful I was to be able to run, how beautiful the area was, the family that I had at home that I love soooo much. A lot of reflection and concentration goes into that much running. I felt so strong this time, and grateful for the opportunity. I was asked the other day if I like to run, my initial response was NO... but while I was running I decided that I really must like running, otherwise why on earth would I be doing it!!! There is something so invigorating when hundreds or even thousands of people are all running together, and there is nothing like the feeling when you reach the finish line... I guess I really do like it!!

As a side note I wanted to share with you a joy of mine. I love to read, I have since I was little. Once I start a good book I can't put it down. I have been known to finish 300-400 page books in less than a day. I have tried to instill this love of reading to my children, and so far it is going well. We go to the library, read daily, and have a huge library of children's books. You can imagine my delight when I went to put the kids to be the other night and found this.....


Jess reading to Nelson... he is pointing out shapes and colors to her. (In his new bunk bed)

Sammy reading to Sarah and Carrie... "Just one more" I heard them ask! "OK" said Sam!
OK... this is a random shot of Wally but I wanted to include him. He is so cute, he likes to eat books right now!

Muria Rocks

So Yesterday Muria was told that a friend had singed up for the Dole Agoura Hills Great race 1/2 Marathon. This is the same race that Muria had run last year only it is a different course. The friend decided not to run the race and offered to let Muria take her place. Without any training for a Half Marathon this was going to be a hard race. Muria not only finished but she did it with a better time than last year. We are so proud of her and the strength she has. You Rock Muria!

How to have a Louisiana Crawfish Boil

The first and probably the most important thing is to be prepared to feed all of the children Mac and Cheese! (This is to ensure that the adults get the Crawfish, and not because the children won't like it!!!)
Seriously... first you start with 70 lbs of fresh Louisiana Crawfish. (pictured here is a 35 lb sack)
Then you ensure that they are all alive!!!
Next you dump them into a cooler and sort and wash them.

After the first rinse you add salt. Here Nelson is dumping the last of the salt on them. When they ingest the salt in causes them to purge (what? the kids ask... oh, you mean throw up!) This helps them to be cleaner inside as you eat them!!

Once they are cleaner you dump them into an already boiling pot of water filled with Cajun spices, sausage, potatoes, onions, garlic, and oranges! At the end you also add mushrooms and corn on the cob.

20 minuets later you pull the enormous basket out of the water....
...and dump it onto a table. (careful not to spill!)
Then you put it all on platters and enjoy. Enjoying includes snapping the tails off and pulling the meat out and discarding the rest, unless you want to squeeze the head (gross in my opinion). During this time you pull apart potatoes and add butter, enjoy garlic and sausages, and enjoy each others conversation and company. (Unless you are Deric's brother Clark in which case you eat as many craw fish as you can possibly shuck in an hour and a half!!!

We had such a wonderful time! We are grateful to Brad (and Deric) who drove the Crawfish all the way from Louisiana for us to enjoy. There were 32 people that came to eat, which included many kids!! We were celebrating Brad's upcoming birthday and celebrating the fact that he joined the Army National Guard to be a helicopter pilot.

Where's Carrie?

The other day the boys were sleeping and I was sewing and noticed that Carrie had been quiet for a while. At first we couldn't find here. But it didn't take us long to look in the blanket cupboard... and there she was!
She is very well known for sleeping in lots of different places and positions. I thought that this one was adorable!

Sleep tight princess!! (I closed the doors back up after I took the pictures.)

Rainbow Cupcakes

Just before Sam turned eight she had a baptism "preview" to help her get ready for her baptism. One of the ladies from church who is over the primary made these cupcakes for the event. She makes wonderful cupcakes and these were no exception. The children loved the vivid colors. The frosting was yummy too... this cupcake has already been licked by Nelson. Sorry I don't have the recipe, but I thought I'd share the cuteness anyway!!

Gradifriday!

Gratitude, no matter what day, is so very important! I am thankful for so many things in my life. My God, my Savior, My Husband and Children, My family, My friends, My home, My... the list goes on. I am also grateful for the things one might not think of... running water, electricity, a comfortable bed, my body, and even my trials. I am grateful for trial because they make us stronger, wiser, and more compassionate. I am grateful that I have the ability to learn and grow through them!

Today was a great day for me. I played with my children. I folded laundry and even put it all away! I made cookies. I smiled. I kissed my husband (quite a few times**). I laughed (not necessarily in that order). I really enjoyed playing trucks with Nelson and Wally. Carrie had a friend over (my niece), and Nelson started playing with them and then came to play trucks with Wally and me. Wally mostly wanted to "taste" the trucks. Nelson mostly wanted to crash them into each other. It was such a boy moment, only destroyed by the pretty dress that Nelson was still wearing (his sister and cousin were playing dress up)!

I also want to add that the older girls got new shoes. They desperately needed them. I feel like my children are now a walking ad for Converse. I have to admit that I love them, I really would like a pair too! I think owning a pair of Converse is a right of passage. I had them, Deric had them, I know my father did too!... and now my children own them!


Nelson was there when I was taking pictures of the girls feet, he wanted his picture taken too... so here are his feet!

VAN

I didn't realize how reluctant I can be to change until we sold our van. I had a really hard time with it. Rather than be excited I was sullen. Even thought having a larger vehicle is what I wanted, I struggled with letting go of the old. (As a side note, I cried the day we traded in our last vehicle for the caravan!) Here we are the day someone else drove off in our van.

Now, I have to admit that I LOVE my new van. I feel like I have so much more control of the things I want to do with my children. For example, just the other day Sammy had a few girls over for her birthday and I was able to have everyone in the car. I felt so good when I pulled up to our house and NINE children piled out of the van. I have already used it to car pool with two other families for a field trip. Other than being white (not my first choice) it is practically perfect! The kids are actually inside watching a movie when I took this picture! Parking isn't even that big of a deal for me... I just have to be careful!!


I have also wanted one of these stickers for my car forEVER! Deric got this one for me for my birthday!! Now everyone knows when the Everitt's are on the road! (maybe that is a bad thing?!)

Snow Camping

As many of you already know, Deric is a leader for the 14/15 year old young men in our Ward. He plans a lot of the activities that they do every Wednesday night, as well as some other fun trips. He decided, and the boys agreed, that camping in the snow would be a great adventure. That is putting it mildly, they went last Friday night (2/26)... that same night we got a huge rain storm. Rain here in the Valley means SNOW in the mountains. It started snowing for them at about 9pm. At 1am they were woken up as the tent was collapsing from all the snow. They had to shake the snow off of the tent ever 15 min. Finally at about 3am they decided to pack up and head out. It took two hours to haul all of the very snowy equipment back to the van. They all showed up at our house at 6:30 am to make their breakfast burritos! It defiantly was an ADVENTURE!





*The other leader is a professional photographer... I just love these shots that he got!

Family Pine Wood Derby

I love our new ward (congregation)... the Newhall 1st Ward. It is so family oriented and the members are so strong. It is a wonderful support network full of amazing people. We feel truly blessed to be a part of this huge family! On Saturday (2/27) we had a family Pine Wood Derby. We ate dinner together and raced our cars. One thing we found out was that we are not race care builders (yet, there is always next year!) But we did have fun. Our family designed the car, Deric cut it out, we ALL took turns sanding it, and I added the characters to the outside. I loved that we had fun creating it and racing it!

Today...

Today I was talking to my friend in NH and was chastised a little for not posting more often... the intention is always there but lately time has just slipped away. I will try and be more diligent, I have many things that I would still like to share with all of you. Here are just a few pictures to get me started, hopefully a few more posts will follow soon... maybe even later today!!

I found a paper today that Jessica filled out . The question was "What is your favorite way to help out around the house." Her answer... Holding Wally. It brought a smile to my face! She is such a great big sister, here she is with Nelson and Wally while I make dinner.

Speaking of Wally... he is growing like a weed. Four months old, 19.3 lbs, and just shy of 27" long!
He is such a good baby. He is very social and a big charmer! I really like this picture of him... he is looking at his big sister Carrie, you can tell he loves her!
Like his shades!
Today while Wally was sleeping and Carrie was at pre-school (more about that later) Nelson and I had a little fun together. I even let him paint. He especially liked it when I showed him that it was ok to get it all over his hands and stamp the paper with his own hands!!
I loved the look on his face when he handed me his first paper. He was so proud and excited about his work. As I stood there watching him I was filled with joy. I love this little boy and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to raise him!